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Category: Architecture & Structures

Pilgrimage to the Cowan 56th Annual Christmas Parade

tbatton

A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. – Wikipedia I love making the pilgrimage down to Cowan to capture the annual Christmas parade. As the definition of the word pilgrimage would suggest, this journey is much more than just watching the parade. It’s a homecoming! The trip down memory lane is good for the soul. How

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RETURN TO THE BRIDGE

tbatton

I’ve always had a love hate relationship with the Natchez Trace Bridge. I love the architecture and engineering behind the structure. I love the sunset vistas looking out west from the top of the bridge. It’s a beautiful monument in a beautiful area. However, there’s a dark side. Locally, this bridge is known as the “Suicide Bridge.” To date, I believe there has been about 38 suicides from this bridge. That’s only true if no one has jumped between the time of this post and the date of February 5th, 2020. That’s the date I witnessed a man jumping off

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Muted Music City

tbatton

“You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension—a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.” That is exactly what it felt like as I got out of my car in downtown Nashville late Saturday night. It was a surreal moment, an eerie moment. Paraphrasing a line from the Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive, I never heard so much NOTHING on a Saturday night in downtown Nashville. I did not

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A Quiet Place

tbatton

It’s been a few years since I visited Montgomery Bell State Park. I believe I’ve explored almost every corner of this park, but there’s one little nook I always pay a visit when I’m in the area. This secluded area is home to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the replica log cabin where the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was founded in 1810. I find this area peaceful. I love walking into the church where the only illumination is the light shining through the stained glass windows. You can almost hear yourself think. I’ve often sat in the pew reflecting on life.

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Some Nashville Perspectives

tbatton

We had a break in the weather yesterday. The sun was actually out and the temperature was mild. It was a perfect evening to take some pictures and a nice time of day to be in the heart of downtown Nashville. I had a shot in mind of a perspective I’ve shot recently at night. I wanted to see what it looked like close to sunset. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I grabbed a shot anyway.  With the sun getting lower and lower, I figured I would make my way to some popular areas to salvage what little

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Fleeting Snow in Black & White

tbatton

“Omaha!” That’s me calling an audible a la Peyton Manning when I saw the snow Friday morning on my way to work. I took a vacation day and captured some snow covered landscapes. I knew this could quite possibly be the only snowfall I see in my neck of the woods in 2020. Now that I’ve said that, it will come a blizzard in April. That’s Tennessee weather for you. Anyway, I knew this snowfall would last only hours, so I had to act fast. I drove out to some of my favorite sites along the Natchez Trace Parkway and

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End of the Road

tbatton

I wish I could tell you that this is another post about me unwinding on the Natchez Trace Parkway after a day at the office. It started out that way, but it ended with me writing a witness statement for the Williamson County Sherriff’s office and the National Park Ranger Service. You are probably beginning to figure out how this story ends, so I must add the disclaimer that this post might be disturbing to some. It was another rainy day, but I was delighted to be greeted with some fog as I left work. Fog always brings unique photographic

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Dull Sunset

tbatton

I took the long way home to catch the final moments of light at one of my favorite bridges, The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge. The clouds were thick enough that only an obscured point of light from the sun was shining through. I was not expecting much, but I took a chance that I might get some color shooting back toward the west. In my experience chasing sunsets, I’ve learned that sunsets can change quickly. They could change into a masterpiece or they could just fizzle out. One thing is for sure, you have to be ready regardless of the

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Shutter Therapy in Motor Alley

tbatton

Every now and then I get the urge to go out and shoot something. During these times, I don’t have anything particular in mind. I just need to feed the craving of creating something through the viewfinder. Depending on the time of day or night, I will seek out interesting light or subjects. Some of my subjects are things I’ve shot in the past, like the images in this post. The Motor Alley building got a make over recently, so it became my target for my late night shutter therapy. This session would have been quicker, but it was extremely

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Mule Drop 2020

tbatton

The Dimple of the Universe started 2020 with a BANG! I shot the very first Mule Drop last year and it was a blast. Given its success, I could only imagine that this year’s event would be even better. To be honest, my goal for the 2020 Mule drop was to get one shot, a shot I missed last year. That missed photo was a shot of the fireworks display over the courthouse. As you will see, I captured many more images, but the fireworks display was going to be my main objective. Since my main goal was to capture

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Cowan’s 55th Annual Christmas Parade

tbatton

I believe the last time I attended the Cowan Christmas Parade, I was marching in it playing my trombone as a member of the Franklin County High School Marching Band. That means the young men and women marching in the 55th Cowan Christmas Parade were not even a thought in this world at the time. I know I just dated myself, but I had to give the readers some perspective.  If my memory serves me right, my very first participation in the Cowan Christmas Parade was as a member of the South Trojan Middle School Marching Band. Since leaving Cowan,

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Climate Strike

tbatton

Whenever I post content of any political nature, I always start out with my obligatory disclaimer. The posting of this content is not an endorsement. It is simply a documentation through photo journalism. My job as a journalist is to tell and show what happened. Interpretation of the content is left up to the reader or viewer. This makes my job easy. All I have to do is use the principles of photography to tell the story. Coupled with these principles are the 4 key elements to complete a body of work. I’ve talked about these in a previous post.

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